QUEER FISH

It happened when I was staying at Bauria in West Bengal. We were going to Kerala on 31st July, 2002. Our chief worry was about the aquarium. What to do with it? At first we decided to keep it with our neighbour, but it was changed and finally decided to keep it where it was - on my study table. I bought worms worth Rs.2 and just before leaving, put the whole lot into the aquarium, some dry food and dry worms. The main switch was put off and we were off.

Travelling by Madras Mail and West Coast Express, I was thinking about fish. We reached Kannur station and finally home where whenever I ate fish, I was reminded of our aquarium. We knew all the fish would die of hunger, but there is one chance. If they began to take the plants in the aquarium, they might live. But there was none to support this view. All believed that all the fish would die. One even said all the colourful fish would die and become colourless. I, sometimes, agreed with them, but I was feeling that if, however, the fish dined the plants,they might live. I had sometimes imagined that all were floating in the aquarium.

Whatever the result would be, it was certain that we would have to change the water as it had not been changed for three months.

We returned by West Coast Express and Howrah Mail, a local train to Bauria, finally an auto which took us to our quarter. My father opened the door and I rushed in to see the aquarium. We were astonished to find our fish alive except for a Gold fish which was dead and two others, whose dead bodies were never found. They were so small that they might have been devoured by the giants.

I put some dry food into it and all the living fish began to swallow them. To our amazement, none of the plants were touched. The water was as clean as we left it. The main switch was put on and I switched on to let the filter work and the air bubbles rose to the surface of the water.

We could not believe it, so could not the people who had heard it. I wondered about it as I changed the month to August and the day to 21st, Wednesday.

For full 20 days, the aquarium full of fish had stayed on my table, without the motor working and without food.

In May 2003, we sold the aquarium full of gallant fish, as we

had to move to Medchal, near the twin-city Hyderabad and 

Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

Read my other Short Stories

Life in Goa

September 5, 2006

Happy Oman! I have taken leave and so has my father; both are working at the same place but different departments.

Life at Ponda in Goa is different from that at Medchal in Andhra Pradesh. If at Medchal, my poem was published in Woman’s Era and I created a site for my creative side of life. While at Ponda, I got the idea of starting writing letters to the editor on current topics in The Navhind Times. Sometimes I feel the left side, of my brain, where the whole seed to leaves and fruits of creativity resides is more active than the right one which is used to lead an ordinary life. Creativity is indeed the food for my soul whereas salary brings food for my stomach.

Weather too is different. Medchal, and the twin cities – Secunderabad and Hyderabad -  are hot and dry, with less humidity and less rain, while Ponda, Panaji or Panjim, Margao, etc. are the places where humidity is high with heavy rains during rainy season. I got the climate similar to Kerala.